Cameras roll for British visit to tea party meeting in Worcester

WORCESTER — Even for a modest documentary like the one Burning Bright productions is filming for the BBC, what you see on television is a lot like the adage about the tip of the iceberg.

As the two subjects of the documentary being filmed across America over the next several weeks, siblings George and Poppy Carlton, settled into the monthly meeting of the Worcester Tea Party at the Canal Bar and Grille on Water Street Monday night, an army of cameramen, sound technicians, and people wearing headphones purposefully milled about in the back of the room.

Skilled in the art of quietly saying "excuse me," the crew seemed to remain as unobtrusive as possible when you're sticking a 6-foot-long microphone over someone's head in a small room packed with about 40 people.

The Carltons, described as the youngest members of an old aristocratic family in England, seemed interested in the presentations. After Catherine White of Lexington gave a presentation on the Constitution, Poppy simply asked her if she liked President Barack Obama.

Ms. White said she has never met Mr. Obama, but noted it's not about liking or not liking somebody — it's about policies. Ms. Carlton pressed on.

"So you maybe like him, but you haven't met him yet?" she asked.

Ms. White at that point let it rip, saying Mr. Obama espouses an agenda that is antithetical to the Constitution and "seriously treasonous."

Ms. Carlton didn't skip a beat when she replied.

"So that's a no?"

John O'Mara of Northboro talked about illegal immigration and the importance of preventing blanket amnesty, and Jim Wallace of the Gun Owners Action League talked about complicated laws in a state that requires a license even for pepper spray.

"We are the only ones who license a spice," Mr. Wallace said.

Petitions went around, and upcoming events were promoted. Despite the production going on around them, the Worcester Tea Party got through a routine meeting.

George Carlton got up at the end to talk about "Black Tuesday," the day in 2005 when fox hunting was banned in the United Kingdom. Mr. Carlton, then a teenager, was just getting started in the family's fox hunting tradition when it was banned. He said fox hunting was a tradition that was integral to life in the country, and served as the basis for relationships. He said he is a member of an alliance fighting to reinstate fox hunting.

"It's not about winning, it's about how long you take, the friends you play with, and the team you have afterwards, and that's why hunting and the hunting ban is a bit like cricket," Mr. Carlton said.

His message about fox hunting seemed serious enough, but Mr. Carlton then worked the crowd with what appeared to be a bit of a dry sense of humor.

"What's the problem with deer?" he asked when members of the audience talked about what they hunt. "Why would you want to get rid of them?"

One woman mentioned that people hunt for food in America.

"Is there no food available?" he asked.

"You know what, in the U.K. it's been nice to have a bit of bloody global warming," he said in response to a question about green energy. "I don't know if you've ever been there but it's rather chilly."

After the meeting, Ken Mandile, who heads the Worcester Tea Party, said he was happy with the turnout, and said it seemed like the filming went well. He said he wasn't quite sure why the production company decided to come to a Worcester Tea Party meeting; members of the company contacted him about attending the meeting about three weeks ago, he said. It went smoothly, but Mr. Mandile said he was still a bit nervous.